Meet Air Protein
Our Moonshot to Feed the Planet
During the 1970s space program, NASA scientists explored a way to feed astronauts on long space journeys by transforming elements in the air the astronauts breathed into protein. This process was shelved and forgotten back then, only to be rediscovered by Dr. Lisa Dyson and Dr. John Reed and perfected by the Air Protein team.
From Moonshot to Meat
During the 1970s space program, NASA scientists explored a way to feed astronauts on long space journeys using carbon transformation. This process was shelved and forgotten back then, only to be rediscovered by Dr. Lisa Dyson and Dr. John Reed and perfected by the Air Protein team. Combined with modern food-making technology, we’re delivering the most sustainable meat alternative on earth.
Air Protein Timeline
Meet the Founders
Dr. Lisa Dyson
Founder, CEO & Director
Dr. Lisa Dyson is a mission-driven entrepreneur with a passion for creative problem solving. Working to help the people of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, she witnessed first-hand the devastation caused by weather-related disasters and has since been on a mission to address climate change. Lisa has a PhD in Physics from MIT, and is a Fulbright Scholar from the University of London where she received an MS in Physics. She is a researcher and scientist at heart, working on projects in Bioengineering and Physics at Stanford University; the University of California, Berkeley; Princeton University, the University of California, San Francisco, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratories. Her background paved the way for her to see through the devastation we are experiencing on the planet and find a way to feed us sustainably.
Dr. John Reed
Co-Founder and Chief Scientific Advisor
Dr. Reed is an expert in chemical and biological energy storage and conversion technologies. He is also one of the world’s leading experts on air-based technologies and has over 20 years of experience in the research and development of clean energy technologies. He has a strong multidisciplinary background in a number of scientific disciplines including biology, physics, material science and applied mathematics. He earned a PhD and an MS degree in Material Science and Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as well as degrees in Biology and Material Science from UC Berkeley. Dr. Reed is an inventor who holds dozens of patents. He has developed a unique approach to carbon mitigation that is a hybrid chemical and microbial process for the capture and recycling of inorganic carbon into high energy density biofuel and chemicals using conventional bioreactors without reliance on food-based agriculture.
Air Protein Board of Directors
Joseph A. Grundfest
Joe is the William A. Franke Professor of Law and Business at Stanford Law School, and a former Commissioner of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. He chairs the audit committee at KKR, Inc., co-founded Financial Engines with Bill Sharpe, the 1990 Nobelist in Economics, and has been active in early-stage investing. Joe is a nationally recognized expert in corporate governance, securities litigation, and a range of business law matters. He's been recognized as among America's leading attorneys, and his scholarship has been published in the Harvard, Yale, and Stanford law reviews.
Maisie Ganzler
As Chief Strategy & Brand Officer, Maisie Ganzler has been instrumental in shaping the overall strategic direction of the food service pioneer Bon Appétit Management Company for over two decades, overseeing Bon Appétit’s strategic initiatives, culinary development, purchasing, and more. In 1999, she helped develop the groundbreaking Farm to Fork local-purchasing program and has since launched many of Bon Appétit’s other progressive initiatives in the areas of animal welfare, sustainable seafood, antibiotics, farmworker rights, and food waste. More recently, she has focused on antibiotics in agriculture and aquaculture, plant-forward innovation, and the development of a proprietary kitchen waste-tracking tool.
Ori Sasson
Ori is the founding General Partner of Primera Capital and has one of the best investment records in the industry. He has chaired companies in the wireless carrier services, global transportation logistics and managed services spaces. Ori has experienced tremendous success leading start-up and established high technology companies in all stages of their business.